The present invention relates to a machine for the manufacturing of tags, and particularly tags requiring welding, printing or other manufacturing processes.
Tags such as those used for nursery stock and of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,082 have been manufactured by a conveyor-type device in which a plurality of tags are placed in an array along a horizontally extending conveyor bed which transports the rows of tags over a plurality of vertically extending welding stations positioned above the conveyor. Wire for the tag tie was supplied from each side of the conveyor such that at least four tags could be welded simultaneously. The machinery employed for providing such tag manufacturing process which provided a maximum rate of approximately 1,900 tags per hour was extremely bulky, extending over a length of over eight feet and a width of approximately four feet. Although the machine provides a high quality weld of the tag tie to the tag body, the machine cost and size as well as its relatively slow speed were significant disadvantages.